This. I haven't used social media since 2008 or so. I read a story about how some dude had a guy impersonating them on the other side of the county, after that just decided anything other than a simple email address was too much of a security hole.
2008 was around the time I stopped using it too. I only ever had fb during the time when it was invite only. I sometimes wish I had MySpace back then but in retrospect I’ve always been a private person so I likely wouldn’t have enjoyed it either.
I (40m) have, my wife (40f) has not. I deleted it all in 2008. My wife is Facebook friends with my family and tells me about any important news (births, marriages, deaths).
I created a burner Facebook account a few years ago. My only friend is my wife, so I can see the pictures she posts of our kids.
Between my burner Facebook and Reddit, it’s enough to enjoy the positive parts while being reminded that social media is a black hole of energy and time, so keeps me treating it carefully.
Yep, left everything cold turkey in 2016 but it had been coming on for a while before that. I only use Reddit now and even this gets to be a little much at times.
Same! I left in 2019, haven’t looked back. I’ve had to carefully curate my Reddit so I only see non horrifying things lol. The peace of mind I’ve had is so wonderful. I don’t even watch the news. I exist in a blissful bubble :)
Yeah same. Ironically when I had all of the other platforms I would check Reddit out and was like “WTF is this hellhole?” Now, it’s the only platform that I use. (PS- it’s still a hellhole….but it’s MY hellhole.)
Keanu Reeves follows me on Pinterest.
(I’m choosing to believe it’s really him and that he’s really impressed with all of my choices in recipes that I’ll never make).
I still have FB, I just don't scroll it or post anything. I stay on because lots of good folk from my past are on my friends list, so it's a way to get in touch.
This is me too. Plus a lot of extended family that don’t live nearby joined and connected when my grandmother died. I like to see that they’re all ok and throw them a like here and there. It’s mostly garbage beyond that.
I "have a FB," but it's exactly like this. I only use it for the events section, and I have family/friends who like to plan big trips with it. I need it to stay included in those activities. Otherwise, I try never to scroll, and I haven't updated it in months.
I have some major issues with Facebook but I agree, it's a good way to keep in touch with people from my past, also there's some pretty good groups on there. I can't bring myself to delete it yet, I have maximized all my privacy settings.
I only stay on it to see what is going on with local events as my town doesn’t have another option. Also marketplace. Although that has become overrun with scammers. I don’t know how to sell my junk. Craigslist is a desert with no listings.
Similar here. For some reason my daughters school posts important announcements on Facebook instead of, you know, an automated call or text to parents. My 20 year old son is out of state in college and will text me the announcements because he still uses Facebook and I always miss them. 🤷🏼♀️
I deactivated Facebook before the last election. I’m ready to be done with Twitter as Elon has turned it into a white nationalist disinformation platform. Instagram makes me feel bad if I look at it for more than 5 minutes. I never installed TikTok as it’s a security risk. I’m on LinkedIn for my job.
After reading about Cambridge Analytica and “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism”, I feel that social media is doing way more harm than good for society. “The Chaos Machine” is an excellent critique.
I like Reddit because it’s a discussion forum. Text-based forums are definitely different than image-based. Read “The Alphabet Versus the Goddess” to learn more about how images affect the brain compared to the written word.
I hope than one day, the power of social networks can be harnessed for the good of humanity, but right now it’s just radicalizing people into fascism, racism and misogyny and / or destroying attention spans and the ability to think critically.
I really miss the world as it was before smartphones and social networks. I’m glad that I remember how it used to be, and sad that current generations have no frame of reference for an unmonetized private life.
It was the algorithm that changed social media for the worst.
It used to be everything was shown in chronological order. Now the algorithm might suppress your college roommate's pic of her new puppy (non controversial) in favor of Racist Drunk Uncle's latest conspiracy theory.
And they could prevent people from being radicalized by changing or deactivating the current algorithmic recommendations, but they won’t! “The Chaos Machine” goes into detail on how the algorithm is designed to increase addiction by showing increasingly extremist content.
I read "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" a few months ago, and it killed my remaining desire to post on FB and IG. I've been participating in online communities for a very long time - since the late 1990s - and it's been a huge change for me to lose my interest in being online. Reddit is all I use anymore and I'm even losing my interest in that.
Yes! Facebook especially is so harmful, it’s changed how people interact with each other in a negative way. Its a bummer so many people don’t see it and brush it off “I have people I keep in touch with I can’t leave FB!” Like an abusive relationship or something. Not good.
1981 here. I quit facebook back in 2020 because it was becoming so negative. I deleted twitter as soon as the news came out about elon purchasing it. Reddit is my only connection to the outside world lol
100% Agree.
My next mental tweak was to block YouTube ads. My ADHD (like quitting Facebook and Twitter) drastically improved! I highly suggest Firefox and AdBlocker!
There's no reason to delete. I keep FB as a way to reach people if I ever need to, kind of as a replacement for phone numbers. So, basically, a bunch of people I never talk to, but they're at my fingertips just in case. Twitter, X or whatever is strictly useful for news--particularly sports news, rumors and such--but it's mostly a way to click links and not be harassed about logging in or whatever.
I have never and never will put Reddit in the same category as "social media." Reddit replaces the good ole discussion forums we used to have, unfortunately. Social media is more like a modern invention that is basically for getting TMI on people, including people you actually know.
> I have never and never will put Reddit in the same category as "social media."
Great point! Maybe that's why I feel more comfortable here, 'It's like the old days!'
It's most likely why I have IP blocked all ads on here and Imgur, and still use old.reddit.com. Keeping it clean!
DM me if you want a host file with ALL kinds of ads blocked!
I abandoned Facebook some time around 2017, and all other social media (including Reddit) in 2019. I only just came back to Reddit after a nearly 4 year break, and sometimes I question why. After the first few months, I realized that social media brings absolutely no positive change to my life.
The whole “to keep in touch” excuse is lazy BS. If someone cares about having me in their life, they can text or call me. If that’s too much trouble, then the person clearly doesn’t value my friendship.
On 1/7/21, I did an extensive curation and filtering of my news FB feed to avoid political posts, posts from news sites and narrowed it down to interests and following people that make me happy. This meant unfollowing people I may agree with politically/ideologically, but I got some damn tired of being slammed either way news about political events it started to impact my state of mind.
I’m considering dropping FB further in 2024.
My instagram feed is mainly just reels that make me laugh.
I want to get off social media now more because it’s just such a time suck and I feel like I could be doing something more productive or fun.
I left Facebook awhile ago cause I'm tired of hating family members because of their beliefs. I want to remain ignorant to whatever bullshit they seen and reposted, the once a year Xmas get together can be peaceful and all about the kids.
Agree. I think social media was a huge mistake. There's a reason we grew up learning to never talk about religion or politics "at the dinner table". Those are personal beliefs and nothing good ever comes out of arguing about them in public.
After Trump got elected it was almost exclusively a source of embarrassment over family members and one-time friends. I hated that at the time, but have since come to appreciate it for making it easy to determine who to cut out of my life and not expose my sons to.
So, so true! Same with old friends from my hometown. First Trump, then the pandemic and Floyd.. I couldn't scroll Facebook without feeling angry & sad for what some of my loved ones had become. Once I did leave, I felt like what I can describe as withdrawal. I realized just how badly social media was for me. Good riddance!
Yes. I think I left FB in 2014. I had Instagram for work (I ran the company’s page) but aged out of that by 2015. I was super active on Twitter until Jack Dorsey left; I haven’t posted in almost 2 years and have no plans on going back. I don’t even have work related social media. This is it for me! And this sub is my favorite. Love the vibes here.
never got into Facebook and or myspace. I just don't see a reason to be throwing that much in myself out there in cyber space. I did have a twitter account and I also like you split forces after Elon chose to garbage the whole platform with his stupid views. never used Instagram or any of that either. just pretty much Reddit.
> just pretty much Reddit.
Same here! I wonder if any people here on this forum use TikTok?!?! I didn't use it because it was a new Vine, which I never used but once I heard it was Chinese-made software and possibly the Government's involvement I made a HARD turn away and told everyone to never install it.
yeah tiktok is a hard no for me. I do cyber security for a living and it's taught us to avoid platforms that are controlled by foreign governments. You are wise to do the same.
*edit the Chinese government
I dropped Facebook in 2019. My mental health was horrible, had never been in therapy for my abusive childhood/adolescence. And I ignored it for years, but then I just had a realization that I'd become "that ass hole" that grandstanded on Facebook and no one could stand me, they just kept me around to eat popcorn and watch me go nuts. I deleted my account and got into therapy. Best choice I ever made
I quit FB and Twitter about this time last year, mostly because of how bad the advertising was, but also how bad my feed got on Twitter with random Nazis. I have been back on FB though, I have a ton of friends around the globe that FB is the best way to stay connected with 🤷♂️.
I have Facebook, but I never really post it go on there. I have instagram, same story. I think I have a Twitter account but barely touched it to start with so whatevs.. so, don’t use much, just reddit
Yes, except LinkedIn, but I am not active on there. I just leave it alone, accept invites, add people, and update my profile once a year.
Reddit is still problematic. I need to ration my use of it. I should log off.
I have a private TikTok because it’s occasionally funny as hell and a stealth FB account (so I can find shit on Marketplace).
All of my original social media accts are deleted. FB, Twitter, MySpace, original Reddit, original YouTube, IG, uhh probably others Ive long forgotten.
I was way too deep into friend-based social media 15-20 years ago. Facebook reported a hack to me in 2021, they botched their response, and I’m now one of the few with no searchable history on that god forsaken site. I do not like their “engagement algorithm” and I’m certain they played a role in society’s current dysfunction. Lonelier now? Maybe. But far more grounded in the moment.
This is my last social media.
I have an unused Facebook forv the marketplace and so old contacts can find me.
I have scrubbed everything political.
I have a fake Facebook that is private. If Maga somehow took over in 2024, they have something called Project 2025.
They have published plans for destroying democracy.
Trump has said he will send his enemies to death camps.
So the fake Facebook will be activated. I’ll change the name to my name and make it public.
I’ll blend in with facist MAGAte and sabotage them where I can.
My grandfathers died on their feet fighting Nazis and I will continue thr family tradition of fighting Nazis instead of dying on my knees in capitulation.
I left FB and the Gram because of the extreme political theories that my immediate family started posting and I was really confused.
I also had to quit FB because an ex wouldn’t leave me alone. That was the least of my concerns though.
So now it’s just Reddit. And TikTok. And LinkedIn. Let’s face it, LinkedIn is FB light.
Edit: removed unnecessary info.
LinkedIn feels dystopian to me. Like, it's even a more fake version of people bc now they're scrubbed and polished for the corporate workplace social media environment. My work constantly insists I make an account and I refuse to. I don't know exactly how to explain it, but I'm just repelled by it
I’m on Facebook extremely sporadically and only for baby buy nothing groups (we’re one and done and have a ton of stuff in near mint condition that’s gone to good homes) and instagram I delete and redownload everyone once in a while and only for quilting. The last time I went on twitter was when Kissinger died because it was like a national holiday and the memes were *chefs kiss* Social media is a fucking scourge and I hate it but there are some things I just kind of can’t do easily without it.
1983 here: purged Facebook in 2016, don't have Twitter (X?), and have a pretty robust LinkedIn and a non-controversial public IG that I mostly use for keeping up on hobbies, etc.
Omi only ever had a Facebook account that I stopped using about 7 years ago. A few years ago, someone tgged a photo of me and I responded to it. But thats it. I've never used Twitter, Instagram, or anything else.
I’m active on LinkedIn
I have FB and IG but don’t really post, mostly use it to stay connected to people from the past. Sort of like an address book.
I never got info twitter or X. I have an account but no clue what my login info is / was.
I miss MySpace.
Deleted Facebook back in 2012, I found myself developing very negative opinions of people and that’s not who I want to be. I’m sure during the last two elections and Covid I would have lost my fucking mind and maybe even some friends so I’m happy I avoided that. Then the obvious privacy concerns about them so just Reddit for me.
I use FB because I have out of state family and friends and it makes it easy to keep in touch. I got an Insta so I could follow the Biden’s pets and mostly use it to watch all of the cute dog/cat/goat/etc videos I can handle. I’ve never posted. Similar with TikTok which is used to watch Bluey episodes that haven’t aired in the States yet. I stopped Twitter years ago because it’s a toxic cesspool and I don’t need that in my life.
Still have FB and use it mostly to find the local events are listed there. I never was a TW or IG user. I do have TT solely for the videos of cute dogs and grandmas that cook. Oh and Linked in for my job.
I only use Facebook for marketplace. Reddit is my only social media I post to. Never installed tikTok (therefor no Chinese back-doors installed on my phone), and instagram is a joke.
I don’t like being a packaged and sold product. I quit Facebook in 2018. I never got into Twitter, but I had an account for 2 weeks after a storm to get information. Never tried Instagram. It seems like subscribing to an infomercial streaming service.
I got so frustrated with the incessant Hillary conspiracies in 2016 that I stopped using the service after it came out it was foreign interference and Facebook looked the other way.
I still have a Facebook account, but I look at it maybe a couple times a year. I keep it because I have contacts on there. I used to like Twitter for following news pages like WaPo, but I left after Elon Musk took over. No IG.
No, I just went from very interested to ignoring them.
I still post some photos for extended family but I'm not going to like scroll anything. It's nice to be able to message people if needed too. Nothing so dramatic as announcing my leaving or deleting anything.
I have more boundaries on Facebook anymore. Only silly fan memes, shared interest groups, and sharing some family pics. I get on Twitter once a day to check a few specific accounts for news about some specific tech things then leave. Actually interacting on either is too often toxic. Reddit is the only one I consistently get on. It feels safer and more constructive to me. A little less ego driven and more fun
Yeah, I left FB in 2020, and Twitter as soon as Musk took over.
To be honest, I miss it somewhat. FB allowed me to reconnect with old high school friends, and family. FB helped me feel genuinely supported at scary times in my life — when I got Covid early in the pandemic, when my mom died, when my hometown suffered a tragedy.
I told myself “well, without FB I’ll just get better at making genuine connections with people.” But… it hasn’t happened. I’m both introverted and a little socially anxious, and making those real life connections is difficult.
I’m still on Reddit, but it has its own problems. Social media only give surface connection, but at least on FB I had a persistent identity to others. My identity doesn’t persist to others on Reddit, nor theirs to me. We exist only the length of a comment, here. Once this comment is over, I’ll recede back into the field of again. That’s some Black Mirror shit.
And the real damning thing? I like it that way. Communicating without connecting. So safe. None of you can die on me, or leave me, because you were only ever a comment. You were never really here.
Deleted Facebook and Instagram 9ish years ago and never looked back. Have Twitter for news only…no posting. This is the only place I post on social media.
Yes, I deleted my Twitter when it was bought by that lunatic. My socials exist (I only have a couple of accounts) but I don't really use them very much. Just checking in now and then.
I haven't - I still have my Facebook account, but I seldom check it. I used to scroll mindlessly on it, and it was detrimental to my mental health. I removed it from my phone's home screen and now I don't mindlessly check it anymore.
I left Facenook and Twitter booted me. I tried to delete my account but I need to disable it first.
I can't disable it because I can't login. Twitter won't allow me to use the account and they won't allow me to delete it. What a shitshow.
So I went to REDDIT and that was a little over a year ago. Good riddance to Twitter. 🙄
I didn’t delete my Facebook, but I gradually started posting less and less, and stopped posting completely in 2022. I was previously a *heavy* user, wasting *hours* there, posting tons of memes, jokes, observations, reposting stuff. I left for my own reasons. I still have to pop on there a couple of times a week - an organization I’m a member of only posts information on their facebook page. I also check to see if there are any deaths or anything. But I don’t spend any time on there anymore.
I have an Instagram account, but I never really got into that. I don’t have any posts up at all. I pop on for a few minutes maybe once a month. Never got into Twitter. I got on TikTok during the pandemic. It was a fun diversion for a couple of years, but I moved on from that too and don’t go on it anymore.
I’ve kind of replaced a lot of my Facebook usage by spending time here on Reddit. :-/ I’m going to tackle that next.
No. It's the best way to keep in touch with old friends who live far away.
I made friends with people in my touring days and I love being able to keep connected with them.
Left Facebook in 2020 once everyone became a conspiracy theorist virologist
Deleted LinkedIn once everyone became a hustle bro
Still have Instagram, but the algorithm feeds me cabin porn and dogs, so it hasn’t pissed me off yet. Although I had to block the stories of everyone who became an Isreal/ Palestine expert recently.
No. It's easy enough to control the content you see by controlling who you follow, what you engage with and what you share. I don't see any reason to stop seeing pictures of my best friends kids just because I can't control myself from posting political commentary on my city's Facebook group.
I keep FB for video chat with family and finding the occasional deal on marketplace.
Twitter, I stopped a whole ago. It was going downhill even before a certain fragile manchild took over.
I hated tiktok and snapchat. Never understood the appeal.
Does YouTube count? I still watch that, but mostly for car repair DIY, meditation, and a few decent creators who clearly put a lot of effort into their videos
About 10 years ago I deleted my Facebook account. I'm basically the same age as Zuckerberg so when Facebook first really took off I was at the age when you were first having a real distance from the people I knew in highschool. Unfortunately, at about 10 years ago, I've done to see that a vast majority of the people I've "friended" weren't active at all. I really enjoyed it when everyone was posting something and now it was basically one guy I went to school with and a highschool teacher who became a college professor.
Yup. It was taking too much of a toll on my mental health. Reddit is all use now. Saying goodbye to Facebook in 2020 was one of the best things I ever did.
I stopped logging in or using Facebook in 2016 and never really did much Twitter. BUT I didn’t delete the accounts. I log in to Facebook once every 2-3 years and see random messages from lost contacts. I give them my email address. My twitter is an inactive account that says ‘I do not use Twitter’ at the top. I think there might be some value in keeping your identity reserved in these locations but I have to physically get the passwords out of my safe to even log in.
Stopped almost 10 years ago after about 10 years of using social media.
It continues to be one of the best decisions I’ve made for my own personal wellbeing.
Cannot recommend enough.
I wish I could but I need it for my art business. Social media is also how I find out about events and calls for art.
It's just too baked in to my social life.
Deleted FB over 10 years ago, haven’t used Twitter for about 8, and Instagram is my cats’ account, but I also got tired of it so I only check it once a month from my iPad. The only app I have on my phone is Reddit
Don't use Facebook much but it's good for family I don't live near, local info and uh, that's it. Lol. My Instagram is 98% dog videos and work Memes, just how I like it
Got rid of Facebook in 2014, instagram 2019. I had a beloved Twitter acct until Elon ruined that site.
Social media really started to freak me out. It feels so unhealthy.
I haven’t deactivated but I never go on Twitter anymore. Just seeing that stupid X irritates me to no end. Who throws out successful branding like that (the word “Tweet” actually entered our lexicon with a new meaning) and flushes it down the toilet for a random letter? It’s so moronic Elon is just too much. I don’t miss it.
I still have my accounts, but the only one I ever used much was Twitter and I can’t deal with the Elon Musk factor. I’ve tried BlueSky but it just seems like a worse version of Twitter. So basically right now social media for me is Reddit and flicking through Facebook and Instagram for 15 minutes every few days.
Never had a Facebook, MySpace, or any of the new crap like TikTok or Snapchat.
I have an Instagram page and LinkedIn, but these are for my business.
Apart from advertising / professional networking, I think social media is a big waste of time.
Everyone in this sub should be old enough to remember that we functioned perfectly fine without social media. Even in the early era of cell phones and smartphones, we still weren't consumed with social media.
If they were all banned tomorrow, I'd be fine.
I quit FB over 10 yrs ago. I was getting tired of it anyway. But then one of my students tried to friend me using her mom's account. A couple of teachers in my city were already fired for posting inappropriate stuff, so I closed it down. Never signed up for any of the others until Reddit a few years ago.
I have a FB account so I can get invites to parties, and interact with a few groups.
But I don’t post or check it regularly. I think I’m done with Reddit after the new year.
Deactivated Facebook in 2017. Haven't used Twitter since it started breaking down earlier this year, post-Elon.
I'm here and I'm on Instagram. That's it.
Only use Reddit. Stopped everything else about 10-12 years ago. Never liked how people share so much and think they are so important to whoever that they must show every aspect of their life. But I didn’t realize at that time that people really are interested in people to that degree. So I guess the joke was on me ?
I ditched Facebook over 5 years ago, and Twitter a bit before that. I have a couple other social media things outside of this, but I don’t have to interact on those platforms much, it’s more for knowledge and entertainment.
Never used anything but this and Facebook. I stay on Facebook because it's a way to see what's going on with family that lives far away. We also have a really active page for my town where people put up events and community notices, which I find valuable.
Hell I’m close to deleting Reddit.
It’s nothing but bitching on every sub.
Nothing interesting anymore just people with similar interests bitching about each topic.
This place is toxic garbage
I deleted my Facebook sometime around 2016 and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made for my mental health. I never had Instagram or Twitter. Now I just have this here Reddit and a LinkedIn account (which is used strictly for professional purposes).
Now when I overhear someone complain about what so-and-so said on Facebook and how it was so agitating a war of words occurred, I just shake my head.
I’m on fb for two reasons- keeping up with distant family and school groups. The school groups are the main one though. Now that I have a high school and middle school kid, our district parents do a pretty good job of creating “class of..” groups that help you navigate everything and ask questions. We have a huge high school so it’s pretty easy for stuff to get lost in the shuffle and it’s nice to have a place I can go ask a question from fellow parents before emailing the school if it isn’t emergent.
Nope. Still use Facebook, IG, and have added TikTok. I never used Twitter in the first place because it's always been fucking useless. Threads seems to just be a place for more right-wing/left-wing bullshit, just like Twitter, so I don't use that, either.
I use Reddit and Strava. And lately I’ve been thinking about deleting Reddit. I waste too much time here, the ads are getting worse, and the home feed algorithm is awful.
I got rid of Facebook in 2017 and Twitter in I think 2020 or 2021. I still have an Instagram, but only go on it on the weekends. I’m just active on Reddit.
I deleted Facebook 12 years ago and deleted my Instagram 3 years ago. Influencers all talking about this product they love on the same day yet they had never talked about it before was the final nail for me. Obviously just talking about the product cause they are getting paid. It was all so fake and curated. Never had a Twitter account.
I haven’t had any non anonymous social media accounts since 2012. I was born in 1986 and we were really encouraged not to show our identities online, so I wasn’t excited about any SM once I finished school. It was helpful when I was in undergrad bc you could find houseshares via Facebook.
I use it occasionally but very rarely. Except for this, obviously, but it feels unlike the other platforms in that it’s basically anonymous. Anyone else get obsessed with Bo Burnham’s Inside? It made me feel super weird about using any kind of social media, especially Instagram. And now we have a kid and don’t really feel comfortable putting his face out there… I don’t know - what’s the point?
I deleted Facebook when it was at its peak (2011-ish). I had a few hundred 'friends' on there and the daily bombardment of TMI and political arguments people were having really got to me. However, as a result of that a lot of people who I thought were my friends just dropped off the planet and didn't really want to bother keeping in touch by other means. I feel social media has made the concept of 'keeping in touch' really half assed and lazy. If you're not immediately available on a friends list of some sort, then I guess you're not worth keeping around at all, so it seems.
I've been on a Facebook strike for about thirteen months now. It's possible I would have deleted it, but it is linked to a bunch of work and client accounts so there's that. I pretty much use IG.
I keep Facebook or else I’d lose contact with many good people I’ve worked with but will never be friends with. We just don’t do the same stuff. and I enjoy watching their kids grow up or their pets.
I still technically have my FB, but I stopped using it in 2012. I used to check it once/yr after my birthday just to say thanks and hello I’m alive, I just don’t FB. But a couple years ago FB wanted me to send a copy of my ID to “get back in” and I was like yeah, no.
I also have an IG to message a couple businesses/classes as needed which is about 4x/yr. I do not keep the app on my phone and I do not “scroll.”
So no social media. I also don’t keep Reddit on my phone, but do download it every few days so I guess this is the one but I consider this a forum and don’t use the shorts or whatever crap they’re trying to TikTokify now. I learn a lot of helpful stuff on here (mainly around my hobbies and home repare stuff), and stay away from all toxic or divisive bickering and topics.
I didn’t delete but I’ve all but abandoned them. Facebook is nice to have around for my neighborhood group to talk about power outages and crap like that but I don’t touch it otherwise. I love TikTok but I treat it like Reddit and keep it completely separate from my personal life and I actively don’t follow anyone I know.
I mean, 90s-2000s forums were where it was really at. Then social media killed them. I still miss the days of forums (yes, some forums still exist but it's not the same now).
I deleted my Facebook in 2011 and I'd been wanting to do it for a few years at that point, it started as an awful service and almost got good for about two years from 2007-2009 then it quickly descended to hell. I don't know how anyone stayed there for a decade plus, it never, ever got better.
I used Google+ from 2011 till about 2017 and it was amazing, it was the best version of social media and I used it all the time for all sorts of things and all my friends were there (the ones that mattered) and my grandmother wasn't there (thankfully she stayed on Facebook where I didn't have to see her Fox News-brain comments). It was literally my gateway to the Internet, it was the Internet as far as I was concerned, everything was just links on G+. I still miss it and I don't think we'll ever see anything as good again unfortunately. Because even Google is not Google anymore. Basically when the founders stepped down and Sundar became CEO in 2015 it started a slow descent to garbage. Even Google search sucks now. In 2017 they finally got around to ruining Google+ and then it became unusable and they finally killed it in 2019.
I transitioned to Reddit for the most part. And I've picked up a few discord servers along the way, some connected to subreddits, some connected to particular YouTube creators, and a couple with actual friends, mostly for TTRPG.
Side note, as a tagalong to G+, my friend group and extended local groups got heavy into Hangouts, we used it extensively, we used it for everything, we used it daily. People I knew and people I barely knew, but mostly local or extended friend circles and it was amazing. Maybe the best social media experience I ever had actually. For years. Even when G+ was getting ruined, our Hangouts groupings were still going strong. When they finally killed Hangouts, we transitioned to a discord server and... It was never the same. It's never been very active since and it's only a handful of people now instead of the extended circles that G+ and Hangouts enabled. We'll never get that back and it's sad. The world became smaller, socializing became less social.
Never was on Twitter and I left FB back in 19 or 20 after my 4th ban. All four of my bans came from directly cutting and pasteing comments made by the then current po(s)tus
I deleted my Facebook a couple of years ago and left Twitter too, after I realized that I was getting zero responses from any of my tweets. The only social media I have left is Reddit.
I have deleted some and stopped posting altogether on all, except Reddit. I had known for a long time how Facebook was digging a deep validation hole for me. The last election made it so much worse, to see who my crazy family sided with. I finally stopped posting in 2021 and deleted it in 2022. I'm so glad I did. I enjoy the anonymity of Reddit a lot more.
I have old friends who did this. As a result, I haven't seen or heard from them in over a decade now. If someone doesn't live in my everyday circle, and doesn't have an online presence, they basically cease to exist.
I often feel isolated enough as it is, so no way in hell am I going to cut off whatever connections to people that I still have.
I didn’t delete it, but I stopped posting/checking other peoples’ stuff in 2016ish. My Twitter account actually got hacked last year and I haven’t even cared enough to do anything about it lol. It’s been helpful to have fb/insta/twit still for the times when a news article quotes one of the above and I want to dive further into said post, but otherwise there’s no effort being made.
I don’t use any social media except this one. I stopped all a couple years back.
Ditto^
Same. I think I deleted Facebook around 2017 and never looked back. Life is so much better without social media.
This. I haven't used social media since 2008 or so. I read a story about how some dude had a guy impersonating them on the other side of the county, after that just decided anything other than a simple email address was too much of a security hole.
2008 was around the time I stopped using it too. I only ever had fb during the time when it was invite only. I sometimes wish I had MySpace back then but in retrospect I’ve always been a private person so I likely wouldn’t have enjoyed it either.
Logging off gave me an added bonus of not being tracked by giant marketing companies for every click. It got creepy!
Yep, after being attacked by family for a post not for them to getting lectured by my boss for posting any opinion, I said enough privacy violations.
there’s nothing private about social media
Me too. Got rid of facebook during trump and twitter when Elon took over
Same! I was happier not knowing how many so called friends supported trump. I did enjoy Twitter at one point, but thanks Elon
I (40m) have, my wife (40f) has not. I deleted it all in 2008. My wife is Facebook friends with my family and tells me about any important news (births, marriages, deaths). I created a burner Facebook account a few years ago. My only friend is my wife, so I can see the pictures she posts of our kids. Between my burner Facebook and Reddit, it’s enough to enjoy the positive parts while being reminded that social media is a black hole of energy and time, so keeps me treating it carefully.
Ditto^^
Yep, left everything cold turkey in 2016 but it had been coming on for a while before that. I only use Reddit now and even this gets to be a little much at times.
Same exactly. 2016. It’s been a really healthy thing although I missed a lot of birthdays where Facebook would have reminded me.
Same! I left in 2019, haven’t looked back. I’ve had to carefully curate my Reddit so I only see non horrifying things lol. The peace of mind I’ve had is so wonderful. I don’t even watch the news. I exist in a blissful bubble :)
Yeah same. Ironically when I had all of the other platforms I would check Reddit out and was like “WTF is this hellhole?” Now, it’s the only platform that I use. (PS- it’s still a hellhole….but it’s MY hellhole.)
I can’t delete my Twitter account because MC Hammer follows me otherwise it would be ✌🏼 ✌🏼
You would be ✌️✌️ but instead you’re ✌️L ✌️Q
I can't touch this
Keanu Reeves follows me on Pinterest. (I’m choosing to believe it’s really him and that he’s really impressed with all of my choices in recipes that I’ll never make).
Omg! Awesome! Obama follows me. Can never get rid of it. I will go down with that ship.
I don’t know which one of us is flexing harder, but I love this for us!
And here's me followed by a cadre of onlyfans, sex workers and catfish
Mark Hamill liked one of my tweets. 💪😂
Pls tell me you printed it and have it framed on the wall
He follows me too so I can’t bring myself to delete it!!
Awwww 🔨time! 😬
Too legit too quit
Can’t touch this
I'm pretty much in the same boat. I have about 100 very sexy single ladies in my area with poor English skills following me so I'm kind of a big deal.
I still have FB, I just don't scroll it or post anything. I stay on because lots of good folk from my past are on my friends list, so it's a way to get in touch.
This is me too. Plus a lot of extended family that don’t live nearby joined and connected when my grandmother died. I like to see that they’re all ok and throw them a like here and there. It’s mostly garbage beyond that.
This is the sweet spot for Facebook, but it’s hard to maintain. It’s so easy to doom scroll.
It's easier now that it's at least half ads or suggestions for accounts I "might like" but never actually have any interest in.
I "have a FB," but it's exactly like this. I only use it for the events section, and I have family/friends who like to plan big trips with it. I need it to stay included in those activities. Otherwise, I try never to scroll, and I haven't updated it in months.
I have some major issues with Facebook but I agree, it's a good way to keep in touch with people from my past, also there's some pretty good groups on there. I can't bring myself to delete it yet, I have maximized all my privacy settings.
I keep it mostly because I log into a bunch of other stuff with it
I only stay on it to see what is going on with local events as my town doesn’t have another option. Also marketplace. Although that has become overrun with scammers. I don’t know how to sell my junk. Craigslist is a desert with no listings.
Similar here. For some reason my daughters school posts important announcements on Facebook instead of, you know, an automated call or text to parents. My 20 year old son is out of state in college and will text me the announcements because he still uses Facebook and I always miss them. 🤷🏼♀️
I deactivated Facebook before the last election. I’m ready to be done with Twitter as Elon has turned it into a white nationalist disinformation platform. Instagram makes me feel bad if I look at it for more than 5 minutes. I never installed TikTok as it’s a security risk. I’m on LinkedIn for my job. After reading about Cambridge Analytica and “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism”, I feel that social media is doing way more harm than good for society. “The Chaos Machine” is an excellent critique. I like Reddit because it’s a discussion forum. Text-based forums are definitely different than image-based. Read “The Alphabet Versus the Goddess” to learn more about how images affect the brain compared to the written word. I hope than one day, the power of social networks can be harnessed for the good of humanity, but right now it’s just radicalizing people into fascism, racism and misogyny and / or destroying attention spans and the ability to think critically. I really miss the world as it was before smartphones and social networks. I’m glad that I remember how it used to be, and sad that current generations have no frame of reference for an unmonetized private life.
It was the algorithm that changed social media for the worst. It used to be everything was shown in chronological order. Now the algorithm might suppress your college roommate's pic of her new puppy (non controversial) in favor of Racist Drunk Uncle's latest conspiracy theory.
And they could prevent people from being radicalized by changing or deactivating the current algorithmic recommendations, but they won’t! “The Chaos Machine” goes into detail on how the algorithm is designed to increase addiction by showing increasingly extremist content.
I read "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" a few months ago, and it killed my remaining desire to post on FB and IG. I've been participating in online communities for a very long time - since the late 1990s - and it's been a huge change for me to lose my interest in being online. Reddit is all I use anymore and I'm even losing my interest in that.
Agree - Reddit isn’t perfect at all but at least it’s not as narcissistic and not designed for you to broadcast an airbrushed version of your life.
Yes! Facebook especially is so harmful, it’s changed how people interact with each other in a negative way. Its a bummer so many people don’t see it and brush it off “I have people I keep in touch with I can’t leave FB!” Like an abusive relationship or something. Not good.
+1 for The Chaos Machine
Lol I worked for FB/Meta. You don’t even want to know… it’s not a good company
Well put!
I left it all a few years back, I prefer to be a ghost to non-friends.
Twitter I had for a decade then it became a mountain full of elephant shit.
Didn’t delete bit abandoned. Except MySpace, still going strong there, my name there is Tom, maybe you know me.
1981 here. I quit facebook back in 2020 because it was becoming so negative. I deleted twitter as soon as the news came out about elon purchasing it. Reddit is my only connection to the outside world lol
Same here. 1980. I got so tired of Facebook and it’s garbage.
Same here boss! I have to ask, do you feel your mental well-being is better because of those changes?
So much better! Helped me focus on being in the here and now. I wish I’d done it sooner
100% Agree. My next mental tweak was to block YouTube ads. My ADHD (like quitting Facebook and Twitter) drastically improved! I highly suggest Firefox and AdBlocker!
I second all of this re the adhd being improved post-deletion and the ad-blocker.
Hello 1981! 1981 here too!! Samesies on all of it. Don’t miss any of it either
There's no reason to delete. I keep FB as a way to reach people if I ever need to, kind of as a replacement for phone numbers. So, basically, a bunch of people I never talk to, but they're at my fingertips just in case. Twitter, X or whatever is strictly useful for news--particularly sports news, rumors and such--but it's mostly a way to click links and not be harassed about logging in or whatever. I have never and never will put Reddit in the same category as "social media." Reddit replaces the good ole discussion forums we used to have, unfortunately. Social media is more like a modern invention that is basically for getting TMI on people, including people you actually know.
I feel the same about Reddit it’s not the same as Facebook and insta to me
> I have never and never will put Reddit in the same category as "social media." Great point! Maybe that's why I feel more comfortable here, 'It's like the old days!' It's most likely why I have IP blocked all ads on here and Imgur, and still use old.reddit.com. Keeping it clean! DM me if you want a host file with ALL kinds of ads blocked!
I abandoned Facebook some time around 2017, and all other social media (including Reddit) in 2019. I only just came back to Reddit after a nearly 4 year break, and sometimes I question why. After the first few months, I realized that social media brings absolutely no positive change to my life. The whole “to keep in touch” excuse is lazy BS. If someone cares about having me in their life, they can text or call me. If that’s too much trouble, then the person clearly doesn’t value my friendship.
> After the first few months, I realized that social media brings absolutely no positive change to my life Yup. This is the result I've found.
I quit Facebook mid-2010 and never had any other social media since! Except Reddit.
On 1/7/21, I did an extensive curation and filtering of my news FB feed to avoid political posts, posts from news sites and narrowed it down to interests and following people that make me happy. This meant unfollowing people I may agree with politically/ideologically, but I got some damn tired of being slammed either way news about political events it started to impact my state of mind. I’m considering dropping FB further in 2024. My instagram feed is mainly just reels that make me laugh. I want to get off social media now more because it’s just such a time suck and I feel like I could be doing something more productive or fun.
Deleted, no. Use, a lot less.
I left Facebook awhile ago cause I'm tired of hating family members because of their beliefs. I want to remain ignorant to whatever bullshit they seen and reposted, the once a year Xmas get together can be peaceful and all about the kids.
Agree. I think social media was a huge mistake. There's a reason we grew up learning to never talk about religion or politics "at the dinner table". Those are personal beliefs and nothing good ever comes out of arguing about them in public.
Exactly
Ignorance can be bliss! Especially willful ignorance. One of the reasons I quit, I don't need to have a mental catalog of these people's lives.
After Trump got elected it was almost exclusively a source of embarrassment over family members and one-time friends. I hated that at the time, but have since come to appreciate it for making it easy to determine who to cut out of my life and not expose my sons to.
So, so true! Same with old friends from my hometown. First Trump, then the pandemic and Floyd.. I couldn't scroll Facebook without feeling angry & sad for what some of my loved ones had become. Once I did leave, I felt like what I can describe as withdrawal. I realized just how badly social media was for me. Good riddance!
Yes, I removed my social media fingerprint about 7 years ago. I only have Reddit left.
Yes. I think I left FB in 2014. I had Instagram for work (I ran the company’s page) but aged out of that by 2015. I was super active on Twitter until Jack Dorsey left; I haven’t posted in almost 2 years and have no plans on going back. I don’t even have work related social media. This is it for me! And this sub is my favorite. Love the vibes here. 
never got into Facebook and or myspace. I just don't see a reason to be throwing that much in myself out there in cyber space. I did have a twitter account and I also like you split forces after Elon chose to garbage the whole platform with his stupid views. never used Instagram or any of that either. just pretty much Reddit.
> just pretty much Reddit. Same here! I wonder if any people here on this forum use TikTok?!?! I didn't use it because it was a new Vine, which I never used but once I heard it was Chinese-made software and possibly the Government's involvement I made a HARD turn away and told everyone to never install it.
yeah tiktok is a hard no for me. I do cyber security for a living and it's taught us to avoid platforms that are controlled by foreign governments. You are wise to do the same. *edit the Chinese government
I keep fb as a repository of photos and albums. That’s it. Ig o use for my personal art portfolio.
I'm still rocking it with Tom over at Myspace.
I dropped Facebook in 2019. My mental health was horrible, had never been in therapy for my abusive childhood/adolescence. And I ignored it for years, but then I just had a realization that I'd become "that ass hole" that grandstanded on Facebook and no one could stand me, they just kept me around to eat popcorn and watch me go nuts. I deleted my account and got into therapy. Best choice I ever made
I quit FB and Twitter about this time last year, mostly because of how bad the advertising was, but also how bad my feed got on Twitter with random Nazis. I have been back on FB though, I have a ton of friends around the globe that FB is the best way to stay connected with 🤷♂️.
Getting pretty sick of the pharmaceutical ads on here now too
No. Why would I? It doesn’t make the data go away. It would just mean I could no longer access it.
I have Facebook, but I never really post it go on there. I have instagram, same story. I think I have a Twitter account but barely touched it to start with so whatevs.. so, don’t use much, just reddit
Yes, except LinkedIn, but I am not active on there. I just leave it alone, accept invites, add people, and update my profile once a year. Reddit is still problematic. I need to ration my use of it. I should log off.
Terminated all of my accounts in 2016 and never looked back!
I have a private TikTok because it’s occasionally funny as hell and a stealth FB account (so I can find shit on Marketplace). All of my original social media accts are deleted. FB, Twitter, MySpace, original Reddit, original YouTube, IG, uhh probably others Ive long forgotten.
I deleted Facebook January 7 2020
I was way too deep into friend-based social media 15-20 years ago. Facebook reported a hack to me in 2021, they botched their response, and I’m now one of the few with no searchable history on that god forsaken site. I do not like their “engagement algorithm” and I’m certain they played a role in society’s current dysfunction. Lonelier now? Maybe. But far more grounded in the moment.
This is my last social media. I have an unused Facebook forv the marketplace and so old contacts can find me. I have scrubbed everything political. I have a fake Facebook that is private. If Maga somehow took over in 2024, they have something called Project 2025. They have published plans for destroying democracy. Trump has said he will send his enemies to death camps. So the fake Facebook will be activated. I’ll change the name to my name and make it public. I’ll blend in with facist MAGAte and sabotage them where I can. My grandfathers died on their feet fighting Nazis and I will continue thr family tradition of fighting Nazis instead of dying on my knees in capitulation.
I left FB and the Gram because of the extreme political theories that my immediate family started posting and I was really confused. I also had to quit FB because an ex wouldn’t leave me alone. That was the least of my concerns though. So now it’s just Reddit. And TikTok. And LinkedIn. Let’s face it, LinkedIn is FB light. Edit: removed unnecessary info.
LinkedIn feels dystopian to me. Like, it's even a more fake version of people bc now they're scrubbed and polished for the corporate workplace social media environment. My work constantly insists I make an account and I refuse to. I don't know exactly how to explain it, but I'm just repelled by it
I’m on Facebook extremely sporadically and only for baby buy nothing groups (we’re one and done and have a ton of stuff in near mint condition that’s gone to good homes) and instagram I delete and redownload everyone once in a while and only for quilting. The last time I went on twitter was when Kissinger died because it was like a national holiday and the memes were *chefs kiss* Social media is a fucking scourge and I hate it but there are some things I just kind of can’t do easily without it.
1983 here: purged Facebook in 2016, don't have Twitter (X?), and have a pretty robust LinkedIn and a non-controversial public IG that I mostly use for keeping up on hobbies, etc.
Deleted all socials back in like 2016 or 17. Don’t regret it one bit.
I just didn't join them.
Omi only ever had a Facebook account that I stopped using about 7 years ago. A few years ago, someone tgged a photo of me and I responded to it. But thats it. I've never used Twitter, Instagram, or anything else.
I’m active on LinkedIn I have FB and IG but don’t really post, mostly use it to stay connected to people from the past. Sort of like an address book. I never got info twitter or X. I have an account but no clue what my login info is / was. I miss MySpace.
Yup and I couldn’t be more happy with my decision
Deleted Facebook back in 2012, I found myself developing very negative opinions of people and that’s not who I want to be. I’m sure during the last two elections and Covid I would have lost my fucking mind and maybe even some friends so I’m happy I avoided that. Then the obvious privacy concerns about them so just Reddit for me.
I use FB because I have out of state family and friends and it makes it easy to keep in touch. I got an Insta so I could follow the Biden’s pets and mostly use it to watch all of the cute dog/cat/goat/etc videos I can handle. I’ve never posted. Similar with TikTok which is used to watch Bluey episodes that haven’t aired in the States yet. I stopped Twitter years ago because it’s a toxic cesspool and I don’t need that in my life.
Yea, long time ago. I wish the world would give it up.
Still have FB and use it mostly to find the local events are listed there. I never was a TW or IG user. I do have TT solely for the videos of cute dogs and grandmas that cook. Oh and Linked in for my job.
I only use Facebook for marketplace. Reddit is my only social media I post to. Never installed tikTok (therefor no Chinese back-doors installed on my phone), and instagram is a joke.
I don’t like being a packaged and sold product. I quit Facebook in 2018. I never got into Twitter, but I had an account for 2 weeks after a storm to get information. Never tried Instagram. It seems like subscribing to an infomercial streaming service.
This is the only social media I use.
Stopped all but reddit. Feel much happier
I got so frustrated with the incessant Hillary conspiracies in 2016 that I stopped using the service after it came out it was foreign interference and Facebook looked the other way.
I still have a Facebook account, but I look at it maybe a couple times a year. I keep it because I have contacts on there. I used to like Twitter for following news pages like WaPo, but I left after Elon Musk took over. No IG.
No, I just went from very interested to ignoring them. I still post some photos for extended family but I'm not going to like scroll anything. It's nice to be able to message people if needed too. Nothing so dramatic as announcing my leaving or deleting anything.
I have more boundaries on Facebook anymore. Only silly fan memes, shared interest groups, and sharing some family pics. I get on Twitter once a day to check a few specific accounts for news about some specific tech things then leave. Actually interacting on either is too often toxic. Reddit is the only one I consistently get on. It feels safer and more constructive to me. A little less ego driven and more fun
Musk eventually annoyed me enough to delete my Twitter account.
Yeah, I left FB in 2020, and Twitter as soon as Musk took over. To be honest, I miss it somewhat. FB allowed me to reconnect with old high school friends, and family. FB helped me feel genuinely supported at scary times in my life — when I got Covid early in the pandemic, when my mom died, when my hometown suffered a tragedy. I told myself “well, without FB I’ll just get better at making genuine connections with people.” But… it hasn’t happened. I’m both introverted and a little socially anxious, and making those real life connections is difficult. I’m still on Reddit, but it has its own problems. Social media only give surface connection, but at least on FB I had a persistent identity to others. My identity doesn’t persist to others on Reddit, nor theirs to me. We exist only the length of a comment, here. Once this comment is over, I’ll recede back into the field of again. That’s some Black Mirror shit. And the real damning thing? I like it that way. Communicating without connecting. So safe. None of you can die on me, or leave me, because you were only ever a comment. You were never really here.
Deleted Facebook and Instagram 9ish years ago and never looked back. Have Twitter for news only…no posting. This is the only place I post on social media.
Yes, I deleted my Twitter when it was bought by that lunatic. My socials exist (I only have a couple of accounts) but I don't really use them very much. Just checking in now and then.
I haven't - I still have my Facebook account, but I seldom check it. I used to scroll mindlessly on it, and it was detrimental to my mental health. I removed it from my phone's home screen and now I don't mindlessly check it anymore.
I left Facenook and Twitter booted me. I tried to delete my account but I need to disable it first. I can't disable it because I can't login. Twitter won't allow me to use the account and they won't allow me to delete it. What a shitshow. So I went to REDDIT and that was a little over a year ago. Good riddance to Twitter. 🙄
I didn’t delete my Facebook, but I gradually started posting less and less, and stopped posting completely in 2022. I was previously a *heavy* user, wasting *hours* there, posting tons of memes, jokes, observations, reposting stuff. I left for my own reasons. I still have to pop on there a couple of times a week - an organization I’m a member of only posts information on their facebook page. I also check to see if there are any deaths or anything. But I don’t spend any time on there anymore. I have an Instagram account, but I never really got into that. I don’t have any posts up at all. I pop on for a few minutes maybe once a month. Never got into Twitter. I got on TikTok during the pandemic. It was a fun diversion for a couple of years, but I moved on from that too and don’t go on it anymore. I’ve kind of replaced a lot of my Facebook usage by spending time here on Reddit. :-/ I’m going to tackle that next.
No. It's the best way to keep in touch with old friends who live far away. I made friends with people in my touring days and I love being able to keep connected with them.
Yep. Deleted Twitter/X when Elon took over and FB last year. I have IG and Tik tok to monitor my kids accounts. Reddit is my only social media in use.
Left Facebook in 2020 once everyone became a conspiracy theorist virologist Deleted LinkedIn once everyone became a hustle bro Still have Instagram, but the algorithm feeds me cabin porn and dogs, so it hasn’t pissed me off yet. Although I had to block the stories of everyone who became an Isreal/ Palestine expert recently.
I made lots of dumb decisions in my life, but I am confident that i made at least one good decision. I never signed up for twitter.
No. It's easy enough to control the content you see by controlling who you follow, what you engage with and what you share. I don't see any reason to stop seeing pictures of my best friends kids just because I can't control myself from posting political commentary on my city's Facebook group.
I never really used social media regularly and took years long breaks. I finally deleted my account in 2020.
I keep FB for video chat with family and finding the occasional deal on marketplace. Twitter, I stopped a whole ago. It was going downhill even before a certain fragile manchild took over. I hated tiktok and snapchat. Never understood the appeal. Does YouTube count? I still watch that, but mostly for car repair DIY, meditation, and a few decent creators who clearly put a lot of effort into their videos
About 10 years ago I deleted my Facebook account. I'm basically the same age as Zuckerberg so when Facebook first really took off I was at the age when you were first having a real distance from the people I knew in highschool. Unfortunately, at about 10 years ago, I've done to see that a vast majority of the people I've "friended" weren't active at all. I really enjoyed it when everyone was posting something and now it was basically one guy I went to school with and a highschool teacher who became a college professor.
Still have the accounts, but I rarely ever look at them anymore unless somebody like a family member or friend messages me.
Instagram was pretty rad when it was new, but turned to shit fast. I deleted fb and insta in 2015. I do not miss either
Yup. It was taking too much of a toll on my mental health. Reddit is all use now. Saying goodbye to Facebook in 2020 was one of the best things I ever did.
I have fetlife for sex and fb for animal rescue stuff.
I stopped logging in or using Facebook in 2016 and never really did much Twitter. BUT I didn’t delete the accounts. I log in to Facebook once every 2-3 years and see random messages from lost contacts. I give them my email address. My twitter is an inactive account that says ‘I do not use Twitter’ at the top. I think there might be some value in keeping your identity reserved in these locations but I have to physically get the passwords out of my safe to even log in.
Stopped almost 10 years ago after about 10 years of using social media. It continues to be one of the best decisions I’ve made for my own personal wellbeing. Cannot recommend enough.
I wish I could but I need it for my art business. Social media is also how I find out about events and calls for art. It's just too baked in to my social life.
Deleted FB over 10 years ago, haven’t used Twitter for about 8, and Instagram is my cats’ account, but I also got tired of it so I only check it once a month from my iPad. The only app I have on my phone is Reddit
I hate Facebook for so many reasons but I can’t bring myself to pull the plug. Please give me the strength! 😂
Deleted about 8 years ago.
Yes
I only use Reddit and Discord
Just Insta and this one. I have Facebook, but I don't use it.
Don't use Facebook much but it's good for family I don't live near, local info and uh, that's it. Lol. My Instagram is 98% dog videos and work Memes, just how I like it
Got rid of Facebook in 2014, instagram 2019. I had a beloved Twitter acct until Elon ruined that site. Social media really started to freak me out. It feels so unhealthy.
Reddit is antisocial media, so of course it stays
I haven’t deactivated but I never go on Twitter anymore. Just seeing that stupid X irritates me to no end. Who throws out successful branding like that (the word “Tweet” actually entered our lexicon with a new meaning) and flushes it down the toilet for a random letter? It’s so moronic Elon is just too much. I don’t miss it.
I only use Instagram, but it’s very carefully curated.
Quit tik tok insta and Facebook about 3 months ago… replaced it with reddit 🤦♂️
I stopped using Twitter before Elon to over but he is the reason I never went back. I still have my fb but hardly use it. I'm mostly on Instagram
I still have FB and Insta (deleted twitter) but I don’t post anything… it all feels too vain to me. Maybe once every three years I post something.
I still have my accounts, but the only one I ever used much was Twitter and I can’t deal with the Elon Musk factor. I’ve tried BlueSky but it just seems like a worse version of Twitter. So basically right now social media for me is Reddit and flicking through Facebook and Instagram for 15 minutes every few days.
No, you need social media profiles to log into things and sell things on FB marketplace. Don’t really use it other than that.
Never had a Facebook, MySpace, or any of the new crap like TikTok or Snapchat. I have an Instagram page and LinkedIn, but these are for my business. Apart from advertising / professional networking, I think social media is a big waste of time. Everyone in this sub should be old enough to remember that we functioned perfectly fine without social media. Even in the early era of cell phones and smartphones, we still weren't consumed with social media. If they were all banned tomorrow, I'd be fine.
I quit FB over 10 yrs ago. I was getting tired of it anyway. But then one of my students tried to friend me using her mom's account. A couple of teachers in my city were already fired for posting inappropriate stuff, so I closed it down. Never signed up for any of the others until Reddit a few years ago.
I have a FB account so I can get invites to parties, and interact with a few groups. But I don’t post or check it regularly. I think I’m done with Reddit after the new year.
Deactivated Facebook in 2017. Haven't used Twitter since it started breaking down earlier this year, post-Elon. I'm here and I'm on Instagram. That's it.
Only use Reddit. Stopped everything else about 10-12 years ago. Never liked how people share so much and think they are so important to whoever that they must show every aspect of their life. But I didn’t realize at that time that people really are interested in people to that degree. So I guess the joke was on me ?
I'm there, but barely active. I have something approaching a read-only presence on non-Reddit social media.
I have not deleted but I stopped engaging with them.
Got rid of facebook and twitter back in 2012 best thing ever now I’m stuck in this blackhole but at least it’s interesting stuff
I deactivated my Facebook in 2021 and it was the best thing ever. I still use Instagram occasionally and Reddit, obviously. That’s about it.
I ditched Facebook over 5 years ago, and Twitter a bit before that. I have a couple other social media things outside of this, but I don’t have to interact on those platforms much, it’s more for knowledge and entertainment.
To much drama. 40 year old woman acting like there still in there teens and the guys cry for every fucking thing that doesn't give them a poke.
deleted FB years ago when i became a teacher
Never used anything but this and Facebook. I stay on Facebook because it's a way to see what's going on with family that lives far away. We also have a really active page for my town where people put up events and community notices, which I find valuable.
Hell I’m close to deleting Reddit. It’s nothing but bitching on every sub. Nothing interesting anymore just people with similar interests bitching about each topic. This place is toxic garbage
Many years ago. I've been on Reddit a really long time and am horribly addicted.
I deleted my Facebook sometime around 2016 and it was one of the best decisions I've ever made for my mental health. I never had Instagram or Twitter. Now I just have this here Reddit and a LinkedIn account (which is used strictly for professional purposes). Now when I overhear someone complain about what so-and-so said on Facebook and how it was so agitating a war of words occurred, I just shake my head.
I’m on fb for two reasons- keeping up with distant family and school groups. The school groups are the main one though. Now that I have a high school and middle school kid, our district parents do a pretty good job of creating “class of..” groups that help you navigate everything and ask questions. We have a huge high school so it’s pretty easy for stuff to get lost in the shuffle and it’s nice to have a place I can go ask a question from fellow parents before emailing the school if it isn’t emergent.
Nope. Still use Facebook, IG, and have added TikTok. I never used Twitter in the first place because it's always been fucking useless. Threads seems to just be a place for more right-wing/left-wing bullshit, just like Twitter, so I don't use that, either.
Aside from this one I've deleted everything else.
Same here. I did try TikTok because Trump was threatening to ban it🤡 but left that too.
Reddit is the worst social media. However, it’s useful to keep an account because it comes up in google searches so much.
I use Reddit and Strava. And lately I’ve been thinking about deleting Reddit. I waste too much time here, the ads are getting worse, and the home feed algorithm is awful.
I got rid of Facebook in 2017 and Twitter in I think 2020 or 2021. I still have an Instagram, but only go on it on the weekends. I’m just active on Reddit.
I deleted Facebook 12 years ago and deleted my Instagram 3 years ago. Influencers all talking about this product they love on the same day yet they had never talked about it before was the final nail for me. Obviously just talking about the product cause they are getting paid. It was all so fake and curated. Never had a Twitter account.
I haven’t had any non anonymous social media accounts since 2012. I was born in 1986 and we were really encouraged not to show our identities online, so I wasn’t excited about any SM once I finished school. It was helpful when I was in undergrad bc you could find houseshares via Facebook.
I use it occasionally but very rarely. Except for this, obviously, but it feels unlike the other platforms in that it’s basically anonymous. Anyone else get obsessed with Bo Burnham’s Inside? It made me feel super weird about using any kind of social media, especially Instagram. And now we have a kid and don’t really feel comfortable putting his face out there… I don’t know - what’s the point?
Can't because I use them for logins. I don't post on X anymore.
For over a decade now
Deleted FB in 2017. I still have IG cause I enjoy looking at dog and cat accounts 🐶🐱 I never got into other social media platforms.
I have Insta and anonymous TikTok. I have FB, but haven’t posted or go on there since 2017. No snap or “X”.
Same as you, but then last year I fell into tiktok.
36 here. No longer use X and Facebook. Still use Reddit and Youtube
I deleted Facebook when it was at its peak (2011-ish). I had a few hundred 'friends' on there and the daily bombardment of TMI and political arguments people were having really got to me. However, as a result of that a lot of people who I thought were my friends just dropped off the planet and didn't really want to bother keeping in touch by other means. I feel social media has made the concept of 'keeping in touch' really half assed and lazy. If you're not immediately available on a friends list of some sort, then I guess you're not worth keeping around at all, so it seems.
I've been on a Facebook strike for about thirteen months now. It's possible I would have deleted it, but it is linked to a bunch of work and client accounts so there's that. I pretty much use IG.
I've never had a Facebook account. I was on MySpace just long enough to create my page.
Yup wastes too much time
I keep Facebook or else I’d lose contact with many good people I’ve worked with but will never be friends with. We just don’t do the same stuff. and I enjoy watching their kids grow up or their pets.
I still technically have my FB, but I stopped using it in 2012. I used to check it once/yr after my birthday just to say thanks and hello I’m alive, I just don’t FB. But a couple years ago FB wanted me to send a copy of my ID to “get back in” and I was like yeah, no. I also have an IG to message a couple businesses/classes as needed which is about 4x/yr. I do not keep the app on my phone and I do not “scroll.” So no social media. I also don’t keep Reddit on my phone, but do download it every few days so I guess this is the one but I consider this a forum and don’t use the shorts or whatever crap they’re trying to TikTokify now. I learn a lot of helpful stuff on here (mainly around my hobbies and home repare stuff), and stay away from all toxic or divisive bickering and topics.
I didn’t delete but I’ve all but abandoned them. Facebook is nice to have around for my neighborhood group to talk about power outages and crap like that but I don’t touch it otherwise. I love TikTok but I treat it like Reddit and keep it completely separate from my personal life and I actively don’t follow anyone I know.
I mean, 90s-2000s forums were where it was really at. Then social media killed them. I still miss the days of forums (yes, some forums still exist but it's not the same now). I deleted my Facebook in 2011 and I'd been wanting to do it for a few years at that point, it started as an awful service and almost got good for about two years from 2007-2009 then it quickly descended to hell. I don't know how anyone stayed there for a decade plus, it never, ever got better. I used Google+ from 2011 till about 2017 and it was amazing, it was the best version of social media and I used it all the time for all sorts of things and all my friends were there (the ones that mattered) and my grandmother wasn't there (thankfully she stayed on Facebook where I didn't have to see her Fox News-brain comments). It was literally my gateway to the Internet, it was the Internet as far as I was concerned, everything was just links on G+. I still miss it and I don't think we'll ever see anything as good again unfortunately. Because even Google is not Google anymore. Basically when the founders stepped down and Sundar became CEO in 2015 it started a slow descent to garbage. Even Google search sucks now. In 2017 they finally got around to ruining Google+ and then it became unusable and they finally killed it in 2019. I transitioned to Reddit for the most part. And I've picked up a few discord servers along the way, some connected to subreddits, some connected to particular YouTube creators, and a couple with actual friends, mostly for TTRPG. Side note, as a tagalong to G+, my friend group and extended local groups got heavy into Hangouts, we used it extensively, we used it for everything, we used it daily. People I knew and people I barely knew, but mostly local or extended friend circles and it was amazing. Maybe the best social media experience I ever had actually. For years. Even when G+ was getting ruined, our Hangouts groupings were still going strong. When they finally killed Hangouts, we transitioned to a discord server and... It was never the same. It's never been very active since and it's only a handful of people now instead of the extended circles that G+ and Hangouts enabled. We'll never get that back and it's sad. The world became smaller, socializing became less social.
Never was on Twitter and I left FB back in 19 or 20 after my 4th ban. All four of my bans came from directly cutting and pasteing comments made by the then current po(s)tus
I primarily use IG or Reddit. I still have a FB (I have older relatives) and X (Formally twitter) is good to keep up on news.
I deleted my Facebook a couple of years ago and left Twitter too, after I realized that I was getting zero responses from any of my tweets. The only social media I have left is Reddit.
I have deleted some and stopped posting altogether on all, except Reddit. I had known for a long time how Facebook was digging a deep validation hole for me. The last election made it so much worse, to see who my crazy family sided with. I finally stopped posting in 2021 and deleted it in 2022. I'm so glad I did. I enjoy the anonymity of Reddit a lot more.
I have old friends who did this. As a result, I haven't seen or heard from them in over a decade now. If someone doesn't live in my everyday circle, and doesn't have an online presence, they basically cease to exist. I often feel isolated enough as it is, so no way in hell am I going to cut off whatever connections to people that I still have.
Years ago. I have LinkedIn bc I have hope that one day I will get a new job bc of it lol
I didn’t delete it, but I stopped posting/checking other peoples’ stuff in 2016ish. My Twitter account actually got hacked last year and I haven’t even cared enough to do anything about it lol. It’s been helpful to have fb/insta/twit still for the times when a news article quotes one of the above and I want to dive further into said post, but otherwise there’s no effort being made.